Home hygiene and child health: Quick wins for children

This presentation shows how improved hand washing and point-of-use treatment of drinking water impacts child survival and development and how these two interventions can achieve “quick wins” for children as low-cost, high-impact interventions.

Recognizing their importance for children, UNICEF is increasingly integrating these interventions into supported programmes and major initiatives aimed at accelerating child survival and development at the global level.

In 2006, the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF (with inputs from the World Bank and others) developed a Global Framework for Action for an ‘Ending Child Hunger and Under-nutrition Initiative', taking a comprehensive, cross-sectoral approach to prevention of the problem. Through the provision of evidence-based advocacy, information and communication, the initiative aims to support national and local decision-makers in analysing and designing tailored responses to the specific problems facing their children. The initiative will promote a range of measures in health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, including correct handwashing and household water treatment.

In 2007, UNICEF is taking action to accelerate progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals in Africa. Strategies include better use of relevant data, improved analysis of the causes of child mortality and under-development, support for scaling up priority intervention packages with proven benefits for children, advocacy and communication. Intervention packages will include correct handwashing and home treatment of drinking water.

UNICEF faces considerable challenges in supporting the delivery of these interventions, including the need for effective coordination between institutions in health, education, water supply and sanitation, along with the involvement of non-governmental and community-based organizations and the private sector. Another challenge is to match effective behavior change communication with the timely availability of quality supplies (e.g., soap, water disinfection products) on a large scale.

This presentation will provide examples of such public health interventions throughout UNICEF's supported programmes, lessons learned, political advocacy, policy implication and make recommendations for ensuring hand washing and drinking water quality are included in all child survival and development interventions. The minimal costs of these interventions combined with scope for private sector involvement increase the potential for their inclusion as an essential component of the child health agenda.